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JCC Move to Droitwich Spa

24th to 30th May 2015

Waved goodbye to Wigrams on Sunday lunchtime.   Expecting a tough trip of just 52 miles but 114 locks between us and Droitwich.  As it turned out,  we had such a good time and kind weather that we arrived safe and sound at the new base on Wednesday evening!  Wednesday was the longest day - 45 locks so we were glad of the excellent shower facilities at DS.

We arrived via Hanbury, the three locks as you turn in to the Droitwich canal are big, deep things.  The first has some initially intriguing bits of white painted wood resting on the gates, with "do not remove from lock 1" written on them.  Once the lock is emptied (using side pounds) the light dawns...they are wedges to keep the gates from swinging closed.  As, by this stage, it was blowing a gale, we made good use of them.

Having arrived so early, we decided to head out again on Thursday,  continuing along the Droitwich canal to the river Severn.  BE AWARE the culvert under the M5 is VERY TIGHT, we were warned if it rained on Wednesday night we probably wouldn't get through.  Luckily it didn't,  but the height gauge is accurate - take everything off the roof, flatten the headlight remove fender hangers and breathe in!

The canal wends its way through the town, with 4 swing bridges to keep you on your toes.  There is no hurrying, some of the lock gates are a bit dodgy not opening fully so expect to have to open both gates; the canal bends and turns with blind corners and bridges...

The final bridge is a corker, you chug through relieved that nothing is coming the other way, to be presented with "Dangerous Wier" signs.  At this point you can see the weir but have to look again to find the lock tucked away on the left.  The sign tells you to phone through to Bevere Lock, which we did and were given instructions as its within a few hundred yards of the junction.

An hour on the Severn takes you to Worcester and back onto the canal at Diglis.  We left Diglis at 8am and, having moored up for lunch for an hour (and a hail storm) we arrived back at DS at about 3pm.

The marina is in two parts, we are in the back, northern pound, adjacent to the car park which is helpful for loading/unloading.  The electrical bollard is at the end of the pier.  It is paid for using pre paid cards.  The water is on a bollard three down so it looks as if the boat will have to be moored bow first if water needs to put in there.  We watered at the facilities whilst waiting for pump out.

Nick is very welcoming, I'm hopeful that we will like Droitwich Spa and wish everyone happy cruising

Cate & Jes

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SED April 2015

 

We have just enjoyed a good week on TQ, with extremes of weather! Not unusual for the UK, of course.

On Sunday we cruised to Fenny Compton; the wind was extremely cold but the baby lambs were lovely. We enjoyed a good meal at the Wharf Inn in the evening. We woke early on Monday to white frosty fields, thick fog and frost on the boat too. The fog persisted until lunchtime and made it very difficult for the Cap'n on the cut. By the time we arrived in Banbury about half two it had warmed up quite a bit and we moored next to Spiceball Park. From then until Friday morning it was just like summer! We spent two nights at the mooring and had remarked how quiet it was at nights. However, on Wednesday morning we noticed that a small section in the park just near us was taped off by the police and a policeman came later to ask questions. There had been an assault, he said, but not to worry as they knew the people involved. It had happened late afternoon, when we were in the town and the park must have been quite busy. We heard later on the radio that it had been an attempted rape.

We took our time coming back from Banbury as the Napton locks were closed for repairs on Thursday. We made our way at to Cropredy, had an afternoon walk- and found that the cafe was closed for three days, just when we needed a drink. Just had to go into the Brasenose instead! Later on, we went back there for a meal, which was very good, though the service was very slow. We had baked Camembert to start, followed by Morrocan flavoured fish, most delicious. Next day we cruised to Fenny Compton and had a long walk to and through the village.  Went again to the Wharf in the evening and can definitely recommend the steak & ale pie. Friday weather was back to winter! It was quite busy through the locks that day, though quietish most of the week.

All in all, another enjoyable week on the boat

 

MRK  1st-15th June 2014

On arival at Wigrams weather initially unsettled but it soon brightened and for the remainder of our two weeks it was mostly warm, sunny and very pleasant.

We visited the Folly Inn at Napton on the Hill. This was our first visit to this pub  and we were impressed with the quality of the food served and the reasonable price charged. Although crowded the pub we feel has great ambience and our experience was very enjoyable..

Our daughter and two grandchildren joined us for a few days on the cruise which comprised a leisurely trip along the Oxford canal and included an interesting day exploring the attractions of Oxford City.

We put together movie clips taken during our travels and the video can be viewed by clicking on link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-4I67bRPtk

Happy Cruising

Mike & Ros

 

SED  2nd-15th March

Arrived at Napton to find it a lot colder than in Wales, where we had just been celebrating Steve's mum's 90th birthday! It rained for the rest of the day so we stayed on board; the weather forecast had shown strong winds for the area for a few days so we had decided to stay at base until it became calmer. Had a good lunch at the Bowling Green in Southam on Mondayafter having sorted out wi-fi at the marina office. On Tuesday we  went to visit the National Trust's Canons Ashby, calling in at Daventry on the way back.

We left base on Wednesday and took our time on a gentle cruise - to Braunston, Hawkesbury Junction and the Ashby canal, stopping at Ansty on the way back.  Had a great sea bass meal at the Rose and Castle there. We arrived at Rugby on Tuesday lunchtime and decided to use our bus passes for the first time to visit that afternoon and Wednesday and we enjoyed our visits to the Museum & Art Gallery and the Webb Ellis Rugby Museum. Had hoped to look around the school but there were no tours on those days.

We had never been in the Greyhound Inn at Hawkesbury Jn on earlier trips, so were looking forward to a good meal there, having heard of its reputation. However, we hadn't heard that it is so popular you have to book a week in advance if you wish to eat there on a Friday evening, even as early as 6pm!

On a very foggy Thursday morning we made our way back to the marina, as the new batteries for the boat were supposed to arrive that day; fortunately they did arrive about an hour after we did-  and were fitted on Friday morning as arranged,  without any problems. They had caused us problems all week, as they weren't holding the charge. When the work was finished, we went to visit NT Chastleton House, a lovely old Jacobean house. Had a meal in Banbury before going back to the boat to finish packing.

We left for home on Saturday morning. (Gold valet ordered).

We enjoyed our trip on TQ , as always, even though it was freezing cold a lot of the time! Very little rain, though and a couple of nice sunny afternoons. Beautiful little lambs and peaceful surroundings. What more could you want?

 

 

JCC

28th Oct to 2nd Nov

Delayed start to our holiday following dire storm warning and knowing the marina is breezy at the best of times, we arrived Monday lunchtime to discover the inverter warning alarm was on and the domestic pack showing 8v.  Plugged into the shore line, once the power was back on and decided the best option was to stay there overnight for a good charging.

Headed off Tuesday morning towards Market Harborough.  This involves the starcases at both Watford and Foxton.   As an out and back trip we had four potential delays, but in fact the longest delay was going down Foxton which was about an hour and a half at lunchtime, so no real hardship at all. On the return we went up to the passing place half way up and passed a single boat coming down in front of a significant audience.  Somewhat nerve wracking for me (driving) but all went to plan and TQ was admired by the appreciative crowd!

I took aboard some of the AGM items:

• New vacuum (under the top step at the stern)

• A roasting tin and shallow tin (in the oven)

• New "gustbuster" umbrella and "brolly mate" (at stern near tiller store)

★★★IMPORTANT★★★

 

I have made a lining for the brolly mate which MUST be in place when you put it onto the tiller, otherwise the tiller will become scratched and marked. (See photo in gallery).   My advice is NOT to use the thumb screw to hold the umbrella in place as it becomes difficult to remove it for bridges.

There are two folding chairs and two stools on board all of which seem to be ok so I am not intending to replace them at this stage.

All in all, TQ behaved beautifully, we had a really good few days and I would recommend the trip to everyone.  We were lucky with the staircases, so you do need to build some contingency time into your trip and make sure you check opening times (Watford closes at 2:45pm in the winter I think!).

Happy holidays all

C

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KLT

September 1st to September 22nd

Check out our adventures at Travels on Tramquility
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29th July to 8th August

JCC

Set off from Wigrams in a generally Southerly direction with no clear idea of a route plan.  Thought about heading to Aylesbury as the last time we did that we were turned back by BW because of a major leak.   However 3 days into the holiday we discovered the arm had not been reopend as planned from a lock gate collapse,  maybe we're not destined to see Aylesbury from the canal? Instead we headed up the Wendover Arm, which is only a mile and a half long.  Took some doing however as its only about three inches deep, at least that's how it felt.  Definitely worth a visit though, huge fish to be seen, dragonflies by the dozen and beautiful, much like the Cauldon (except for the flour mill which intrudes for 5 minutes or so).  There's nothing much at the terminus, so we winded and headed towards Cowroast as our most southerly point, neither of us being interested in getting any nearer to urban greater London.

The return route was equally good, but slightly too quick for our liking, so rather than get back to the marina too early we diverted up to the Welford arm, another arm that hardly merits being called more than a finger, but again an interesting meander with a marina at the end this time for water and a walk to the village shop.

Returned to the marina onWednesday,  with an engineer due to visit on Thursday to look again at the starting problem, the only issue we had.

Overall a thouroughly enjoyable and relaxing week and a half, TQis looking good in the main, a couple of blacking scrapes need some attention and the bathroom mastic has gone mouldy again, otherwise she looks in pretty good nick.

Happy cruising all

Cate, Jes &Alex

 

 

 

Tuesday 28th May

Back to the lovely TQ! She stood out at the end of the jetty in all her glory, in the afternoon sunshine, as we arrived at Sunday lunchtime. It was especially good to get onboard again as, because of circumstances, we haven’t had a cruise on her since June last year. She still looks good and appears to be going well so far.

We were delighted the weather was fine, as we knew that on Friday the marina had been closed because of the very high winds and an accident between two of the hire company’s boats. We left base about 3pm and were into Napton Bottom Lock by 4pm. The weather had been getting better and it turned into a very hot afternoon- such a surprise. We saw a baby water buffalo which had only been born a couple of hours earlier. At 1915 we had finished all the locks for the day and we moored at the summit, to enjoy the beautiful scene and a meal on board.

Bank Holiday Monday’s morning started off just as beautifully sunny and we set off at 0730. It WAS beautiful -but the wind was freezing, just as it has been all winter. We cruised along steadily for three hours, then someone pulled out just in front of us and maintained a very slow speed; it was not easy to manage the boat in the strong winds round the bends so we moored and had an early lunch, then soon afterwards arrived at the first lock of the day. Quite a lot of boats about, as you’d expect on a Bank Holiday, but all went well. We moored just past Cropredy about 2.30pm. Took a walk into the village, got the newspaper and ice creams at the Bridge Store - which we were surprised to find open as somebody had told us it was closed - then had a look around the old church and concluded our visit with a drink in the pub! We were feeling rather tired by then so decided to go back to TQ and spend the evening on board, where we had a delicious meal (thanks M&S) and an early night.

Today we awoke to heavy rain and it has been similar all day, fortunately being somewhat lighter when we went to the village before lunch. Even more lucky was the fact that a friend phoned just exactly as the phone came into signal range to tell us of the arrival of her new grandson! After going to the shop, we walked round to the café and changed our minds about just having coffee when we smelled the food. Enjoyed lovely leek and potato soup, with warm crusty bread. ‘The Green Pantry’ is definitely worth a visit but is closed on Mondays. As we walked back to the boat the rain got heavier again. We had thought we might leave for Banbury if the rain had lessened, but at 4pm it was still very bad so as we’re not in a rush we have decided to stay here overnight.

Thursday 30th May.

Again no signal at our mooring spot, so writing this in the hope of being able to copy and paste into the blog before long.

After the very heavy rain all day Tuesday, the sun came out brilliantly at 5.30pm and it looked like we were going to have a beautiful evening. We thought of setting off but exactly one hour later the dark grey clouds suddenly covered the sun and it rained heavily again, all evening and into the night.

On Wednesday (29th) we set off at 0715, just in light rain, and made our way to Banbury. After all the hard work of the previous day, this was a fairly easy ‘day’ for us, with only the three locks to do and no problems anywhere. We had moored in the centre of Banbury by 0930. The Captain walked many a mile - after trying Tooleys Boatyard (which was closed) and the chandlery at Sovereign Wharf- to Homebase, (much further on) to get parts for repairs to the shower and basin taps. An hour and a half later, when I’d had more than enough time to tidy up things and wash my hair etc., he returned with said parts. By the time he’d showered too, it was lunchtime, so we had our soup before going ashore to Costa. Had some retail therapy, including greetings cards as both a friend and a niece gave birth to baby boys this week! Later we went to Pizza Express and had a great meal.

Today we set off from Banbury at 0720 - slight rain but quite a bit warmer. Filled up with water after the lock and it was 0810 when we left the water point. We met a lot of boats today, going in both directions, so had chats with lots of people. The Lock Cottage at Somerton Deep Lock looks very pretty with the shutters and it was only when I took the photo that I realised that the wrought iron ‘hinges’ on the first floor shutters were actually painted. They were very well done, looked exactly like the downstairs ones except that they were flat! The flowers trailing over the bridge there were really lovely.

We saw some very tiny moorhen babies and a group of little goslings and heard lots of beautiful birdsong.

We decided to moor at Lower Heyford and found a place just before Bridge 206 and moored by 3pm. After some long-awaited lunch, we took a walk into the village to have a look around. There are some  beautiful houses/cottages there. Weather was fine then and for the rest of the day too. We had a look round the church, which had its beginnings in the eleventh century. It was another hour and a half until the pub would be open, so we decided to go back to the boat and have our meal on board. Even as I write, at 2120, it is so peaceful here and the birds are twittering - glorious! One of the beautiful aspects of narrow boating.

On Friday 31st May, the weather steadily improved and it was even hot. On to the River Cherwell for a short while, then moored at Bridge 224 near Kidlington in order to walk to the Co-Op store five minutes’ walk away. Met a BW man who told me that they had been working in that area for a couple of weeks and their boat had been broken into three or four times during that period. Tied up for the night just after Lift Bridge 234, which was very difficult to work. We had a most delicious barbecue meal and were able to sit out for quite a long time- lovely!

Saturday 1st June.

Up at 6am, filling up the water just nearby at 0720 and on to Dukes Lock, in beautiful sunshine! More lift bridges but no problems and we moored just past College Boating at Oxford by 10am. After lunch we walked into town and we were entertained by a German troupe from Bonn, Oxford’s twin city. They had been in town for a week and on the Saturday the band marched through the town to the square. The troupe then performed some amusing dances, which included throwing some of the girls into the air. Fortunately there were no accidents as it would have been a hard landing and somewhat spoiled the show. We had a good meal at Ask! before going back to TQ.

Sunday morning saw us walking to town quite early so that I could go to Mass in Blackfriars Priory. Although it was a nice day, the wind was still a bit sharp so we did a little shopping before lunch, then afterwards we went to visit Balliol, Trinity and Wadham Colleges. We love the old buildings and the gardens were really lovely, especially on that lovely sunny afternoon.

Monday 3rd June

We left Oxford just after seven, went through the Isis lock and turned, to go back through it and start our return journey towards Napton. It was very hot at times today. After Pigeons Lock, we passed a large area which looks like a ‘hippy commune’; it stretches over quite an area, with lots of different outdoor ‘rooms’ containing settees, awnings and fairy lights etc.

We eventually moored just past Dashwood Lock, in a lovely quiet area and we had a barbecue. Beautiful evening!

Tuesday 4th June

We set off for Banbury at 0725 and enjoyed a sunny day, though there was a cold wind. However, the day got hotter and hotter; we arrived in Banbury at 3pm and moored next to Spiceball Park. I made a quick trip to the shops and the Captain had to go to B&Q after needing something else when continuing work on the cold tap in bathroom. When that was done, we had our meal on board then went for a walk in the park and down the towpath as it was a lovely evening.

Wednesday 5th.

Got a taxi and went to visit the NT property Upton House. We enjoyed that very much and the grounds were beautiful, so we spent the whole day there, starting with the Taster Tour and lunch afterwards. Definitely recommended!

Thursday 6th June

Set off at 0800,  the wind was wintry for the first few hours, but gradually we got rid of layers as the temperature rose. Many of the paddles were very difficult to work and also many of the gates extremely hard to open or close. We met quite a lot of boats at the locks today though we didn’t see too many in between. We did, however, see ‘Firefly’, one of the Elton Moss boats - the owners told us that they are self-managed too now. At 4.30pm we moored just before bridge 123 in a very peaceful spot. We realised later that we had tied up at the other side of the same bridge on our way out from Napton. We had our third bbq of the trip but had to eat inside as the wind had got a bit cool. Still, the surroundings more than made up for the cold.

Friday 7th June.

Up early to a beautiful morning in a beautiful spot. Did the washing and polishing of the boat exterior, as far as possible. Only a couple of boats passed before we left there at 1040. As has often happened on this trip, the wind was quite cold in the morning, but it did warm up later- especially when the lock work was going on of course- and it did get hot after that for a couple of hours. Most of the locks were busy as we made our way back to Napton; there was a volunteer lock- keeper at the last lock. I nipped in to the Folly shop and the pub grounds were very busy with people eating outside- it looked like summer! … and very inviting but we had other plans. As it is Steve’s birthday tomorrow, we decided we would have dinner out today. We arrived at Wigram’s Turn at 2 o’clock and some more work was done on TQ before we went to the King’s Head for a meal, fortunately booked the previous day as the restaurant is very popular. It changed hands a while ago and had a three-month refurbishment. The restaurant area isn’t very big so they are hoping to extend it. The food was most delicious and beautifully presented. A good choice!

 

JHICC 7th to 14th April 2013. (SED)

Our son John and his family enjoyed a great week on Tranquility. They were very grateful to have been able to 'borrow' the boat and the children were so excited! Funnily enough, they also cruised as far as Lower Heyford and the weather was quite good for the first four days or so, but there was some rain towards the end of the week. They reported that they didn't have any problems and ordered the Gold Valet for the 14th, so we hope that TQ was sparkling, ready for the arrival of the next owners.

With regard to the non functioning carbon monoxide alarm reported by  JCC, on the 7th,  a new alarm was purchased and temporarily fitted in the saloon area until a decision is made about replacing the original one.

Best wishes to all.

 

 

JCC 1st to 7th April

Another good week cruising, as far as Lower Hayford this time.  The weather has been interesting!  Having expected it to be warmer than our last trip, see below, in fact it was just as cold with ice on the cut each morning and very strong winds.  We only had one day of snow though and yesterday was a glorious spring day, once the ice had melted.

TQ has gone well, with a couple of days where she started second time rather than first, but not too much of a problem.  The only issue was the dining table, which collapsed,  slowly and inelegantly, sending the vase of flowers to the floor, but luckily nothing else!  After some deliberation, we bought two adjustable legs and attached these.  They work effectively and should see us through to the agm, when we can discuss the best options.  The old folding leg mechanism had actually sheared through, so we need to keep an eye on the remaining one as it was pretty disconcerting to stand in the kitchen and watch as it descended to the floor!  As I say its lucky there wasn't a meal on it at the time!

For those interested, had an excellent meal at The Folly last night, but you do need to book.

Cheers all

Happy cruising

Cate

 

 

JCC 11th to 17th February

Spent 3 days marina based in the snow. Whiled away the time replacing the lino in the bathroom, sealing the basin and fitting the new doormats and having an excellent dinner in the King's Head.  Also managed a trip to Ikea where new crockery was bought.

On Thursday the weather changed and we set out towards Banbury in the sunshine.  The water was very high, covering the towpath in places and where there was no standing water, thick mud! This resulted in an inelegant backwards, slow motion fall into the canal by yours truly...luckily the boat performed perfectly so hot shower, heating and a roaring fire soon sorted it all out.  Didn't quite get to Banbury, turned at Cropredy on Friday, enjoying a delicious lunch at the Brasenose Arms.

Returned to Wigrams by Saturday afternoon, having been held up by an almost empty pound at the top of the Napton flight.  Phoned the new CRT for advice and they were happy for us to send the water down ourselves, which meant we were only delayed by half an hour or so.

Spent a couple of hours on the outside of the boat including a paint job on the gunwales and left the following morning to compliments from the yard staff about how she was looking!

Please see photos in the gallery of bathroom and fender hangers

Happy cruising all

Cate

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KLT 16th December to 30th December

Scuppered.....again!

Check it all out here at Travels on Tranquility

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CC 25th November to 30th November

Well it's a first for me to stay in the marina, but weather was against us for the first couple of days.  Staying in was good except for the ducks which felt the need to peck the side of the boat at two hourly intervals - has anyone else experienced this?

An interesting trip (by car!) to Stratford where the river was very high - flooding right up to the level of the canal basin.  On Wednesday the wind dropped so we trundled out to Hillmorton - no locks...and on Thursday we trundled back.  TQ running very well indeed although the smoke alarm appeared to be out of order so a new one was bought and fitted.  Sorry to say its the same as the previous version and the red light flashes every 40 seconds to tell you it's working (or to keep you amused if you can't sleep - possibly because of the red flashing light?).  However it does work as a smoke alarm and that's the most important thing!  Woke on Friday to thick ice, which made the pier an interesting experience, it also prevented much external cleaning as the cloth was freezing on and making a thin layer of extremely slippery ice - so I'm afraid I gave up on that!  All was well until the final job - vaccuming, when I switched it on the whole ring main died.  Now in the hands of the electrician and Kevin.

Cheers all

Cate

 

KLT 16th September to 7th October 2012

A postcard from us on board TQ.

Everything started off to plan but of course things go awry, this time it's the weather (no surprises there)

Check out Travels on Tranquility to see the latest.

Please note, currently using iPad to blog and it has unexpected results so the blog is not up to the usual standard - sorry.

 

 

DMB 17th June to 1st July

Had a lovely 2 weeks on TQ despite the very mixed weather. Planned to do the Leicester ring but on arrival at Kilby bridge we listened to the weather forecast and other boaters and decided not to risk the River Soar and River Trent this time. We found Foxton and Watford locks very interesting and after turning round went to the Braunston Historical Boat Festival. Visited Coventry basin which is worth the 2 hour trip down the Coventry Canal. TQ has gone well and we have had no trouble with the bow thruster.

Hope the weather improves in July.

Happy Cruising

 

SED - 7th to 17th June 2012

I'm sure that by now everyone knows that the weather is not of the best variety this 'summer' and so we had the worst weather in June that we've ever had on TQ.  Sunday 10th was like a good summer until 3pm when it suddenly got grey- and started raining soon afterwards- and also our visit to the lovely village of Bugbrooke on Wednesday afternoon was enhanced by beautiful weather, though it rained in the evening .

We took it easy as I am still waiting to see a specialist after my knee got damaged last time on TQ in March.  We went through the Braunston and Buckby locks and on to Gayton Jn., mooring just inside the Northampton Arm of the GUC.  Monday 11th must surely have been the highlight of our trip. We woke early to very heavy rain so decided to wait before moving to see if the rain would ease. It didn't, but just before lunch we decided to go anyway. Six and a half hours later,  we had finished the sixteen locks in the incessant rain and were soaked and very cold despite all the layers of  clothes and 'waterproofs'. There were no other boats on the cut and we met hardly any people. However, one boating couple we met on the towpath advised us not to leave the boat while at the Northampton end, so we decided to forgo our planned visit and stayed on board, leaving next morning to do the run back.  We  actually found the mooring at the end,  before lock 17, to be quiet and the people we met in the morning before leaving were  all friendly.

There was only one day when we didn't have to wear jackets, but even then we got soaked in the evening on our way back from the White Horse in Welton, (3/4 mile walk from the canal), even though we had the Windbrella!  Had good meals there on two evenings and excellent meals at the Wharf, at Bugbrooke- again on two evenings.  Saw the Elton Moss 'Bittern ' at the Wharf and Dragonfly and Jenny Wren whilst cruising.

What a difference the mattress makes! That's the first time I haven't dreaded going to bed on our trips on TQ.

As Cate mentioned, the bow thruster hadn't been working properly, so someone came to have a look at it on 8th. It was working ok then and also was ok for a short time when we left base but failed again. Steve checked it and couldn't find anything wrong (!) but it worked again afterwards and remained working for the rest of the trip.

Everything  else was fine -and we also received quite a few comments about the great gloss on TQ.

Last but not least, hope your shoulder op went well Cate and that you are recovering well now.

Happy cruising everyone!

 

JCC - 3rd to 7th June 2012

Phew!  Three and a half busy and very wet days to Knowle and back...86 double locks in all.  Sad to say I couldn't do any of them as I'm having an operation on my shoulder in less than 3 weeks, so Jes and Alex did the grunt work whilst I drove and collected the admiring comments about the boat!

We arrived on Sunday to find the new mattress duly delivered to the office.  Took the old one to the dump - I hadn't realised quite what a sorry state it was in until it neatly folded (fell) into the car with no effort.  The new one is extremely comfortable and not foldable at all!  I've put 3 new laundry bags into use to contain the bedding - each is labelled with it's contents.  The last double quilt wouldn't fit in so is in the traditional bin liner - I'll try to get another bag for next time.  In addition we have added a long handled small roller and 10 roller heads to the stores, although unfortunately the rain meant we didn't get a chance to use them.

The good news is that the damaged caused by the Willow Wren boat is not as serious as I had feared.  The bollard is scored and has about half the paint off it's top surface, but none of it should be too difficult to repair - I can imagine what a shock it must have been for Lynn and Bill though.   I have been trying to speak to Deborah at Willow Wren all week but we appear to be destined to leave each other messages.  Now I'm home I should be able to get her tomorrow.  The damage didn't stop people commenting on how lovely TQ looked on three separate occasions in the last few days - one even asked if I could tell him who had done the paintwork as it was the best he'd seen in a long time.  I have to admit, it made me give TQ a little pat of pride!

The bow-thrusters gave up altogether on Tuesday, I have asked Wigrams to take a look and Steve & Eileen were not planning to leave the marina today, so they should have had time to do whatever is needed.  Otherwise all has been working well.

We're not on again until November, so here's wishing all of you happy cruising over the summer months!

JMG - 15th - 18th April 2012

A short trip - just a chug along the cut - no locks this time.

Met with Gillian at Wigrams - what a pleasure to be dealing with such a lovely and helpful team of people.

 

KLT

08/04/2012 to 15/04/2012

Check out our blog Travels on Tranquility

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